Taking Stock at Boop's Week 54. 1-31-13

Here's what's happening at Boop's week 54:

Who is this little girl?

• Winnie had her first accident on the carpet this year, which is better than expected. She wouldn't go out at lunch, and I got home a little late. Fortunately, I don't think it was UTI-related. 
• Boop and Winnie have their ins and outs. I was encouraged when Winnie let Boop pat her on the floor. Then, an hour later, Winnie is ready to bite Boop's hand off for picking at her. Maybe this is a sibling thing?
• Boop is still nursing, but I'm thinking more and more about the next step. The transition from bottle to sippy cup has gone well. She seems happy enough either way, and she's just as happy to try to drink out of a regular cup with some help. 
• It shouldn't be a surprise to learn that Boop is a human garbage disposal: fruit, veggie, meat, carbs, dog food, it's all good. I've had to take Winnie's food out of her mouth more than once, unfortunately.
• As for me, I'm trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. In the meantime, I'm trying to do old people stuff like save for retirement. I've started a little 529 for Boop--thanks to our cousins, and I've talked to Mom about starting one there, too.

In from the Snow. 1-30-13

Do me a favor: open the door and let'em in!

Ancient Wisdom. 1-1-13

I’ve been reflecting on some advice that I received from my mom and aunt D over Christmas. My mom has been on me for some time to get Boop some good shoes, the traditional white leather Stride Rites, and this was seconded by my aunt. Boop’s been wearing leather slippers, like Robeez, which are good shoes but not really for walking. We also saw Boop’s cousin over the holidays that was born a few days after Boop who is walking around like nobody’s business <of couse, he’s also half Boop’s size>. His mother was saying that hard-soled shoes really helped him to walk.

New Shoes

The trick has been to get over to the store to get her measured, as they are only open during the day. Fortunately, they were open yesterday, and we picked out a pair that we liked. Unfortunately, they didn’t have them in stock and would have to get them from their store in another town. Rather than order them online, I tried to support the local store; so we will get them late this week or early next. I’ll admit I’m a bit ambivalent about doing anything to hasten Boop’s walking. I can barely keep up with her as it is!

The other topic of discussion at Aunt D’s was the almanac. When I hear almanac, I think of the mini-encyclopedia with world facts and figures. I have a cousin who is 2, and her mother and my aunt were discussing the best time to take away bottles, take away pacifiers, etc. Of course, they were talking about the Farmer’s Almanac, and apparently, it tells you the day that you should do these various things. So maybe I need to get an almanac and just go through the list of transitions that Boop needs to accomplish before going into her next class.  

Proximal Control. 1-26-13

My mom had recorded about 5 videos of Boop using the television remote on my video camera... 

Taking Stock at Boop's Week 53. 1-26-13

Here's what's happening at Boop's week 53:

Yum, vegetable soup. There's no time to wait for a spoon!

• A little late again. I had Boop at home for the long weekend, and I never get as much done as I would like. Teaching is keeping me busy, along with an extra helping of departmental/school service (meeting, after meeting, after meeting) and then my main job, research, which seems to fall by the wayside.
• Boop keeps getting into more and more stuff. I was trying to take care of the groceries when I lost track of Boop. She was almost at the top of the stairs. Apparently, Boop can climb stairs. These aren't the pleasant sorts of developmental milestones that one wants to discover, especially when they are totally unexpected and have such a potential for danger.
• I guess Boop is officially a toddler. She can throw a fine hissy fit. Her favorite is throwing her head back. She clocked me a good one last week, throwing her head into my mouth. Fortunately for her, she caught my lip. Unfortunately for me, my lip got nice and bruised from my teeth. I try to ignore her little fits, but it's not easy. Trying to get a diaper on her is like wrestling a wiggly bear.
• We're trying to introduce more and more solids. If she could live on Cheerios, she would be happy. She likes her carbs. We're working on more foods with texture. She can eat some things all by herself, which gives me a little break.

Boop's Party. 1-21-13

Boop's birthday brunch. She did fine even though she missed a nap.

Actual Birthday. 1-21-13

Boop on her actual birthday

B Day. 1-18-13

Happy Birthday, Boop!

With Love, 

Your MaMa

Taking Stock at Boop’s Week 52. 1-16-12

Here’s what’s happening at Boop’s week 52:

The Christmas cookies we made--only they're Halloween cats
as we didn't have a gingerbread boy cookie cutter

• Winnie hasn’t gone in the house in a while, thank goodness. So, I’m not really sure how her UTI’s are doing. She woke me up at 5:30am this morning to go outside. I’m just glad I woke up. Thankfully, Boop has only been getting up a couple of times at nights.
• Boop is walking and talking and eating and drinking. She walks about 3 steps on her own. She is able to say ‘milk’ a little better. She’s eating everything in sight, except mashed and baked white potatoes. I can’t figure that one out. Of all foods! And she’s doing pretty well with the sippy cup. She loves to find my glasses and to try to drink from them. I give her a little help.
• My semester has started. Is it bad to admit that I am ready for it to be over? With Boop being a year old and with my busy work schedule, I need to start working on transitioning Boop to whole milk; although, I’m very ambivalent about it. I will miss our little visits at lunch time. It’s strange to think that she won’t remember anything about it.
• Boop will be a year old in 2 days. She’s a different little girl from the screaming-crying baby from 6 months ago. Now, she mainly cries when she’s not getting her way. But she's been a bit fussy lately. Her daycare teachers think her urine smells funny; so I guess I’ll try to make an appointment for the MD. She’s been fussy tonight. Not exactly sure why?

Taking Stock at Week 51. 1-10-13

Here's what is happening with Boop's week 51:

• It’s hard to believe Boop will be a year old soon. Planning for her birthday has been hectic, trying to get my house in order. Getting rid of things has been a major priority. Organizing baby stuff has also been a major focus.
• My favorite thing about Miss Boop these days: her awesome hugs. She puts her arms around me and nuzzles. Her teacher got one a few days ago and had to tell me. I got one last weekend. THE BEST!
• I’ve been fighting with the vet to get Winnie her dog food. We’re still struggling against UTI’s. I don’t understand the problem. I’m thankful that my aunt’s vet tried to help.

Taking Stock at Boop’s Week 48. 12-20-12

Getting caught up...

Here’s what’s happening at Boop’s week 48:

• Boop is 11 months old. It’s strange to mark these milestones in the grand scheme of things. What’s even stranger is that I have a baby. It still hasn’t sunk in. I look at her, and I’m still a little lost. Her disposition is different than mine, it feels like. Of course, I was pretty loquacious as a child, and I was a bit of a ham, too. But Boop just has so much energy. I can’t believe she’s not a rail. <Well, I can knowing how much she eats…> I keep telling myself that she’ll feel more ‘mine’ as she gets older.
• Winnie has another UTI. She just finished the antibiotic. I’m fed up with the vet. It should not take a month to get results from a kidney stones test. I’ve paid over $1000 on the dog now. Some of that was for a test that I can’t get the results for. I called last night and voiced my frustration on the answering machine of Winnie having yet another UTI. I’m waiting to hear what kind of resolution they have.
• I was reading something about Ay-ay-ay being Jewish. I hadn't really heard of that before. I just figured Cecilly sang it because it was in Cielito Lindo. Well, I guess that's old news by now. She doesn't sing that as much anymore. Hokey Pokey is the song, which she requests by clapping her hands.

Just ask Boop. 12-31-13

I’m delicious, apparently. Boop loves to take bites of my chin and cheek. I used to think it was because she was teething, but she still does it now that she has her teeth, to a much more painful effect.

I’m hilarious. Boop throws back her head and giggles when I talk to her, even when I say ‘no’. And yes, I realize that’s not the best thing.

My teeth are fascinating. She reaches out to touch them with her pointer finger. Maybe it’s the yellowing from all of the Mother’s Milk tea.

I’m the greatest singer in the world. Boop can be crying, screaming, yelling, but it’s my singing that will calm her and make her smile. She easily bores of all of the CDs, DVDs, and YouTubes I offer, to the dismay of my weary vocal chords.

I’m practically Ginger Rogers. As they say, she kept up with Fred Astaire but had to do it all in reverse. I can belly dance, almost, with Boop on my hip. Top that, Fred!

I’m better than Bessie and all of the other cows on the farm. I may not make much, but I try to think quality over quantity. Boop seems to think so. She has gotten in the habit of handing me her bottle of formula after only drinking an ounce or so in the evenings. Maybe she isn't that excited about drinking it.

My smile is magic. Most folks comment on how happy Boop is. Quite a change of pace, verdad? And the quickest way to get Boop to smile is for me to smile.

My toys are the best. The remote control, the cell phone, the computer: much better than anything Fisher Price makes, even better than Little People!

Momma is the greatest word. EVER. Sometimes it’s the only word. Said over and over again. I’ve never tried to count how many times she says it in the average day.

I better enjoy it while it lasts because it won’t last long!

Transitions. 12-30-12

What’s so magical about 12 months old? Somehow a child is just supposed to magically change. Change from 2 naps to 1, from baby food to solids, from breast milk to cow’s milk, from one class to a new one, from free play to structure, from crawling to walking, from crib to cot, from bottles to sippy cups, from being fed to using spoons, and those are just the transitions I know about. So far, Boop’s life has been full of changes, but these seem so much more drastic.

Of course, all of these transitions are layered on my own, mainly changes in work. A new person starting, teaching a new group of students, a type of student that I haven’t taught before. I’m trying to get us all ready, but it’s a lot of changes. Boop likes to try my food, but she’s still choking from time to time. It amazed me that she didn’t flinch when I offered her a taste of jalapeno and came back for more!

We need to start working on spoons, maybe tomorrow. She’d much rather eat with her fingers, though. And when she does, she stuffs her whole hand in her mouth to get the food. Somehow, in spite of her precautions, the food only has a 50% chance of making it in. The sippy cup transition isn’t too bad. She seems to drink from it okay. In spite of all of the difficulties with the changes, one thing I look forward to is that daycare gets a tad cheaper, and it will be less expensive to feed her.

Taking Stock at Boop’s Week 50. 1-2-13

Here’s what’s happening at Boop’s 50^th week:

Boop on her new sled

• Seems like there should be something special for 50 weeks, but that will happen a little past 52 weeks, I guess.
• Boop has a couple of new favorite words, and they sound just like they were uttered by her momma. One is “Mom” in an almost staccato. When I heard her say it the first time, I thought, gee, that sounds familiar. Then, as I was talking to Mom and trying to figure out if our cell phones had lost connection, I said, “Mom?” That was it: apparently, I check to see if Mom is on the line so much that Boop was able to nail it. The other thing that she says, is an incredulous “WOW!” It sounds just like the Wow I use in response to something that is a cross between ‘that is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!’ and ‘I love it!’.
• Winnie hasn’t peed in the house in 2 days—that I’ve seen. It’s a miracle, but it’s been a fair bit of work for me. We had a blow out a couple of days ago when I lost it a bit with her. She had just peed in the floor after I asked her to go out, and she was snapping at me. I’m still coming home at lunch every day to make sure she goes out.
• And me, I had forgotten about grant reviews that are due tomorrow. I’m hopeful that I can get Boop settled in early enough that I can get another one done tonight. I’m gearing up for some long work times ahead. More details on that later. Classes start soon. Wait, did I have a break for Christmas and New Year’s? If I could just get over this sinus thing!